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Geoblocking

About

It happens unfortunately in great recurrence that consumers find that they cannot watch films or sport events online if they are on a foreign site, or they find that they are prevented from ordering a product from another Member State or must pay higher prices for a service abroad because their access has been blocked. This is because companies “geo-block” their services and offers. That is to say they erect artificial barriers to prevent consumers in other European Union countries accessing their services.

We believe discriminatory territorial practices should stop and we ask the EU to do two things: First, consumers should be allowed to access content such as sport events, music streams, movies and TV programmes from any provider in the EU. This would curb piracy (accessing the content from unauthorised sources) and help all consumers to enjoy Europe’s cultural diversity. Secondly, the rules preventing discrimination on the basis a consumer’s place of residence when selling goods or services need to be sharpened.